Kukla's Korner Hockey

Neither Zubov nor Boucher has battled an injury this close to the playoffs, so they both are curious to see how they handle the balancing act of getting healthy and ramping up their intensity with the rest of the team.

“I don’t know how many games it will take, because I’ve never done this,” Zubov said. “I guess that’s the tough part.”

Boucher, about two weeks short of his 35th birthday, said he’s encouraged by the recent 38-game rehabilitation period that he used to get his left shoulder healthy. Boucher was out for almost half of the season and returned to play four games before injuring the right shoulder.